SkyDrive v Google Drive v Dropbox

Over the last week Dropbox has had an update, SkyDrive has had an overhaul and Google Drive has been released.

I’ve been using both Dropbox and SkyDrive for a while now for file storage and Google Docs for documents I need to access anywhere, the reason I still use Google Docs rather than the office online section of SkyDrive is because several of the organisations I have worked at use web filtering to block SkyDrive but still allow access to Google Docs. So I use the 3 different services for 3 different things:

Dropbox – Small encrypted / password protected files, files for use with iOS apps not compatible with SkyDrive.

SkyDrive – Backup of all photos, personal documents and possibly music in the future.

Google Docs – Documents I need access to when I’m at sites that block SkyDrive and Dropbox.

Note: Now that Google have released Drive I think that this may also be blocked in the near future.

The image below shows a quick comparison of the 3 services.

The new SkyDrive app on Windows 7 is very similar to the Dropbox app in that it creates a folder which is synced with SkyDrive, I have read lots of reviews from people that don’t like it working this way but I don’t see it as an issue.

My current setup is to have the SkyDrive and Dropbox apps on my laptop, iPhone and iPad. I created a sensible folder structure with Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos (much the same as the Libraries) in the SkyDrive folder put the relevant content in to each folder and then added the new SkyDrive folders in to the corresponding library, this means that it is just as easy to get to my files as before but that they are also synced with the cloud. For Dropbox I just have a folder that enables me to sync particular files between apps on my laptop such as Keepass and the iOS app equivalent.

The above could be setup with Dropbox in a very similar way but I have 25GB of storage with SkyDrive and only 3GB with Dropbox, SkyDrive is also more cost effective for increasing storage than Dropbox.

My point of view is that each service has its uses but if the apps I use supported SkyDrive I would move away from Dropbox and if the sites I work at start to block Google Docs/Drive then I would also move my documents to SkyDrive. This is just personal preference, I use Hotmail and other MS services and the ability to easily share photos with people using an email address where they get a link to download the folder makes it simple, other may disagree and want everything with Google or Dropbox but until one service (preferably SkyDrive) can do everything I’ll be using all 3.

Additional – this howtogeek.com article go’s through how to setup skydrive on your pc.